Stardust
by Pokka
Summary: "And so, those who are born this way, born too full and live too fast- they are called stardust. Alone, they are what makes a star. They need no one else to be whole."
1. Chapter 1

"You, my dear, are absolutely ridiculous. As is that troublesome brother of yours." The two of them are sprawled out on her massive bed, fully enjoying a little downtime in between missions and meetings; Ryder near comatose and down to nothing but her civvies, Jaal lounging comfortably atop her pillows and void only of his rofjinn and gloves.

Their combined laughter mixes in the air, floating above them to hang like a cosmic cloud, a clashing of galaxies in the most gentle way possible. "Hey, you leave Tobias out of this," she says, eyes still closed and her arms folded beneath her head as Jaal traces nonsense patterns into the skin of her back. "He was innocent. Mostly."

Jaal lets out another laugh, this one in exaggerated disbelief, "I can hardly believe that he would miss out on the chance to let a pyjak loose in your father's workspace."

"Okay, yeah. Not even I can try to pretend that he would pass up the opportunity." Callidora sighs, contentedly shifting as Jaal's fingers trail innocent sparks across her skin. "Dad was pissed though. _Apparently_ , our seller thought it would be funny to feed the little guy a handful of dextro-nuts before giving him to us."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," she mimes back, smiling at the memory, despite the ass beating they got afterward. "Poor thing used Dad's office as his own personal toilet." It didn't help that pyjak have an affinity for _throwing_ their...secretions, especially in stressful situations. Like, for example, being fed dextro-based foods and subsequently being locked in a strange room. "Now that I think about it, Tobias and I were sent off to boot camp not too long after that."

He hums a thoughtful little sound and says, "I wonder why."

Callidora flings a hand out, halfheartedly slaps his thigh and leaves it there, half-asleep and too comfortable to do much more. Especially with how he had switched from teasing trails of his fingers to full on digging the heel of his hand into the tired muscles of her lower back. She turns her head to face him, her hair mussing with the movement, and lets out a groan that was breathy enough to almost be considered a moan as he hit a particularly delicious spot.

She can feel his eyes on her face, watching, studying as he continues his ministrations. It was nice to be able to just relax like this, no gunfire or explosions to be heard or diplomatic relations to attend to, even if it wasn't to last for very long, at least they had this.

He moves his hand and massages the muscle in her side and _oh god_ , she pushes herself into the mattress as she loosens a pleased groan, arching her back in attempt to press closer to his hand.

"You are exquisite, my stardust." Jaal murmurs, almost low enough that she doesn't quite catch it in her blissful state. Ryder cracks open an eye and gives him a small smile, trailing the hand on his thigh up to drape over his waist as she settles back down into the fluff of her comforter.

"Why do you call me that?" She asks, voice muffled and lost to the depths of a poly-cotton monstrosity that had no business being as comfortable as it was. Jaal hums his curiosity, not bothering to further vocalize his thoughts. "'Stardust'," she clarifies, "why do you call me that?"

Jaal is silent for a beat, hand no longer tracing or massaging, simply sliding down the smooth expanse of her back, stopping only to allow his thumb to trace over a particularly nasty scar. "Hm. Well, you know of how my people believe in reincarnation."

"Mhm. I've also heard them talk an awful lot about the stars." Callidora moves her head enough to be able to look at him with both eyes open, and he carefully brushes her hair out of her face. "I take it that has something to do with it?"

"Yes. You see, it's believed that a soul will be reincarnated as many times as it must until it has reached its full potential, and when it has, a star is born, and that soul is finally laid to rest." He rests his hand along her cheek, running his thumb along her cheekbone as he stares at her with those gorgeous galaxy eyes. "Sometimes, in rare cases, it's believed that a soul is born only once, and in that carnation, they live more than one should. That they live _all_ of their lives in the first, they love and live and learn more than one can handle. When they die, they do not come back. They are stars, with no need for more chances to grow.

"And so, those who are born this way, born too full and live too fast- they are called _stardust_. Alone, they are what makes a star. They need no one else to be whole."

Ryder stares at him for a long, still moment. Then, slowly, she moves to her knees and climbs atop him, straddling over his thighs so that she could properly look him in the face. Through all this, he watches her warily, still unsure of how she might react to such information about his culture. She _is_ the alien here.

Jaal settles his hands on her thighs, feeling the strong muscle that hides beneath her deceptively soft skin, his nervous energy sparking along the surface. She cups his jaw in her hands, feels that tension slowly flow from his body, and asks so, so quietly, "You really think I'm...I'm _stardust_?"

He huffs a small laugh, hands roaming higher up her thighs and his fingers dip beneath the fabric of her shorts to run along her hips. Callidora wasn't sure if _all_ angarans were this touchy-feely (though she had a strong leaning towards _yes_ ) but Jaal certainly was.

"Not just me," he says. "The Moshae, my true mother, even Evfra cannot deny what is true. Talk of you, of what you have done and will continue to do, have fully convinced my people." And, _stars above_ , she's so beautiful. He kisses her, snaking his arms around her waist to pull her closer, shuddering as she runs her tongue along his bottom lip. Jaal pulls away and rests his forehead against her own, eyes closed and enjoying the feeling of having her so near. "The fact that my people believe that you may be stardust, is...astronomical. If they believe that you, one of the Milky Way aliens, could perhaps hold the highest form of rebirth known to us, could very well be the difference between and _alliance_ and a _friendship_."

"Kett? Kett have no birth, no rebirth, nothing. They are hollow husks of what they should have been and because of that, they were doomed to us from the start. But you?" He breathes deeply, squeezing her almost imperceptibly tighter. "You're magnificent. You're stardust." Callidora smiles, feeling the gentle spark of his bioelectricity along every point of contact of his skin on hers, and she can't help herself- the way he stares at her so openly, his feelings written in his eyes and painted every touch, her heart swells in her chest as if unable to contain her own love - she peppers his face with kisses. Her smile growing almost too wide for her to be able to keep going as he laughs beneath her, his strong arms crushing her to his chest.

She finally places a kiss to his lips, their teeth clacking as their laughter subsides, his hand slides from her waist down to her ass and he shifts her to sit more firmly in his lap. Callidora takes the hint and rolls her hips, grinning wickedly at the shudder that goes through him. Taking that grin as a challenge, Jaal flips them over, laying himself between her thighs as he presses fleeting little kisses along her neck and collarbones.

Ryder sighs as she smooths her hand down the side of of his cowl, enjoying the feeling of his lips and tongue as he mouths at the tops of her breasts. His fingers dance along the band of her bra, following along the cut of fabric as if deciding to remove it or not. Apparently, he chooses the latter, as he decides instead to flatten his large hands against the sides of her ribcage and press a final kiss to the space between her breasts before resting his chin there. Jaal gives her the barest hints of a smile as she continues to run her fingers along the textured skin of his head, her nimble fingers following along the grooves and indents like tracing along the edges of an Andromeda-made Rosetta Stone, an entire galaxy of things to discover and learn, all laid out before her. Literally.

"You know," he begins, voice deep and soothing, vibrating through her chest. "Even though I'm not sure if I'm convinced by my people's beliefs...I do believe that you are stardust. And I know that this life will not be my last." His fingers draw down over the line of her ribs, feeling each bump and committing it to memory. "And though it saddens me to think it," he pulls in a shuddering breath, leaning into her touch as she places her hand upon his cheek, "you will not follow me into the next life."

"Oh, Jaal." Callidora whispers, a weight settling on her chest much heavier than the angara layered upon her.

He presses his hand over hers, curling his fingers to squeeze her smaller hand in his own. "However, I must admit that it is comforting to know that, if what they say is true, I will reborn with you watching over me." She huffs a laugh and his bioelectical field spikes a bit with his growing enthusiasm, the fine hair on her arms standing on end. "Imagine it, my love. The star shining brightest above my future homeworld; Callidora, from stardust to starlight. You will guide my people home."

Ryder blushes, a fine dusting of red falling over her cheeks and the tops of her ears, only endearing her to him more. Jaal raises himself up and kisses her again and again, savoring the muffled feeling of her nails digging into the thick leather padding on his shoulders as he grinds against her, her hips rising to meet his own. He breaks the kiss first, unable to ignore the way her lips swell a bit after their kisses only feeds his desire.

"There is no where I feel more at home than in your arms," he says, allowing her the moment to smile sweetly, before adding, "or between your thighs." Her face burns darker, something he wasn't sure possible, and the way she traps her bottom lip in her teeth just might be his undoing.

"So, that being said: Callidora, _please_ , allow me to return home."

Ryder whines and she nods, her words trapped in her throat and lost to her. Jaal's lips quirk into the smallest smile of victory before he ducks his head and begins kissing his way down her body, each sweet kiss followed by gentle bites and the soothing sweep of his talented tongue. He makes his way down her chest, over her sternum, across the taut plane of her belly, and he drags his teeth gently across the place where the band of her shorts meet her skin. She shivers, lifting her hips and smiling in anticipation as he pulls both her shorts and underwear down, planting searing kisses down the lean length of her legs until the offending garments are free, and he tosses them behind him with a flourish.

Jaal wastes no time in hooking her legs over his broad shoulders, trailing teasing passes of his lips across the soft flesh of her inner thighs, his eyes constantly on her face. He passes his thumb down her sex, delighting in breathy sigh that falls past her lips, her eyes dark and heavy lidded. His breath ghosts over her sensitive skin, ever the tease after finding Callidora's impatient streak.

The smug bastard wanted to hear her _beg_.

And when she was about to give into his silent request, her mouth parting to grant him those sweet, sweet pleas-

"Pathfinder?"

Ryder nearly screams, her hands fisting in her sheets. Jaal's silent laughter just makes it worse. "Yes, Suvi?"

"Sorry to, erm, _interrupt_ , but Director Tann is on vidcom for you."

Jaal presses a kiss to her hip bone and peels himself away, swatting her hands away when she tries to pull him back down. Usually, Callidora doesn't know when to accept defeat, which is what made her such a good pathfinder, but Jaal's incessant smugness and Suvi's patient-yet-awkward silence made her much too tired to try to press her luck.

"I don't suppose there's any chance it could wait until later?"

Suvi laughs a little, "Afraid not. He marked it as both 'immediate' and 'urgent'."

Ryder sighs and rubs at her eyes, annoyed at how close she was to having a _very_ good night off, only to have it snatched away at the last second. _The work of the pathfinder never ends_ , intones SAM on their private channel. She shoots a glare at his mini-node on her desk and forces herself up from the bed, padding across the room to snatch up her discarded clothes. "Fine. Put him on hold and I'll be up in a second." Suvi's line cuts out and leaves them in blissful silence once more.

Forcing herself back into clothes was torture enough as is, even having to search for her long lost shirt was a challenge in enough itself (it was under the couch), so when she turned around to find her boyfriend lounging upon her bed, ungloved hand slowly stroking along the very prominent bulge in his pants as he gave her a look that could only be described as _bedroom eyes_...she wanted nothing more than to personally punt Tann into the Nexus' fake lakes.

Callidora stomps over to her insufferable boyfriend, closes her hand over his wrist, and gives him the _dirtiest_ glare she could muster. He merely looks at her innocently, face flushed a pale blue and his eyes so dilated she could nearly see her own reflection in his pupils. "Is something the matter, my dearest?"

Oh, he is _so_ lucky she was a merciful woman.

She kisses him on last time before talking that damned call, but before she leaves him, she squeezes his wrist a little tighter, lays her hand purposefully over his covered cock, and with a hairsbreadth between their lips she whispers, "Do _not_ finish this before I get back."

Jaal shudders deliciously, his bioelectric field flaring so much that her hair stands on end and drifts toward his skin. "I-I wouldn't dream of it, my love." She smiles almost sweetly as she leaves him, padding barefoot up the ladder and to the comm room, ignoring the pointed looks some of her squad sent her way.

And when she hits the vidcomm controls a little too harshly, well, what can she say? She's horny and irritated.

"Ah, pathfinder, I was beginning to think you weren't going to answer." Tann gives her a once-over and his lip curls a bit in disdain. "What...unconventional attire, you have on."

"Yes well, if you do recall, tonight was supposed to be an off night for me and my crew." She crosses her arms over her chest, clearly displeased. "I'm sure you understand the lack of formal attire."

"Of course. I suppose I can only hope that the face of humanity is able to look more...appropriate, when representing your race."

Callidora grits her teeth. She could handle being denied some _incredible_ head for an _emergency_ call, but to be insulted not only about her clothes, but about how she presents herself as pathfinder? She thinks the fuck not.

"You know, you're absolutely right." She says, noting the clear surprise on Tann's face. "I should be much more proper when representing humanity. Who knows what could happen if someone was given the wrong idea."

"Exactly! I'm so glad we could see eye to eye on the matter."

Perfect. Ryder smiles almost serenely as she pops her leg up onto the console, the flat of her foot smacking against the metal and causing Tann to jump, despite being light years away. "Good thing I'm not representing humanity right now."

The salarian sighs tiredly, "Ryder, please…" Well, who was she to deny the director of the Initiative. Callidora, being the flexible asshole that she is, raises her leg off the console and instead holds it as high as it could go, her calf level with her head. "Okay, first of all, that's disgusting. Secondly, I had originally called just to update you on our continued relations with the angara but," he pauses, as if swallowing back bile, "clearly, I've caught you at a bad time."

"What makes you say that, Director? I have plenty of time to talk." Though realistically, she didn't. Her self-indulgent boyfriend can and will take matters into his own hands (literally) if she didn't speed things up.

"No, no. We can speak when you're feeling less...volatile. Goodbye, pathfinder."

Well...sometimes a victory is a victory, no matter what form it takes.


	2. Chapter 2

She opens her door to find him in the process of coming all over his fist and stomach. Which, you know, wouldn't be that big of a problem if she hadn't been really looking forward being on the receiving end of that bioluminescent mess. Callidora takes two steps past the threshold and stops as she crosses her arms, the door beeping as SAM helpfully locks it behind her, the noise catches Jaal's attention and _god_ she could practically feel his bioelectric field flare from where she stood across the room.

"I wasn't even gone ten minutes." She says with an exasperated sigh, mentally checking with SAM's perfectly recorded time stamp. Six minutes and twenty-three-point-two seconds; that was all that she had been gone and he had decided to betray her like this. It made the residual slickness between her legs that much more unbearable as she watches him begin to soften in his hand, the spattering of his release very much apparent against the black of his jumpsuit. She watches him as he lets go of himself, caught in the act, his dick softening but not completely drawing back into its protective sheath. So, maybe she _did_ still have some time for a little payback.

"Darling one," he begins to plead, holding his hands up placatingly, but the action only brings attention to the mess stuck to his fingers. Callidora takes slow, careful steps toward him, arms still crossed and brown eyes darkened in something that could either be annoyance or lust- probably a mix of the two. She crawls up the bed, hands and knees sinking into the padding, and she grabs both of his wrists as she looms closer, her lips a hairsbreadth away from his own.

"You promised to wait for me." She says, definitely not pouting whatsoever. Jaal's fumbles for something to say, an explanation, but they both know all too well that he was just entirely too self-indulgent. And, perhaps, because he knew that they would need _something_ to do while he got hard again, and it was no coincidence that he particularly enjoyed spending time with his head between her legs.

What he didn't expect, however, is what she did next.

"You know damn well I would've handled that for you." She says, just before popping his cum covered finger in her mouth. His mind visibly stutters to a halt, lips parted almost as if in awe, the galaxies in his eyes swallowed by the black of his pupil, and the trilling sort of rumble that traveled through his chest and settled in his frill when she made a point to press her tongue flat to the pad of his finger had her almost ready to forget being upset that he got to get off while she had to deal with Tann. Almost.

Her lips tingled from the burst of bioelectricity that spiked along his skin, dancing along her tastebuds as she hollowed her cheeks enough that his finger made an audible ' _pop_ ' when she pulled away, her mouth open just enough for him to see the glowing remnants of _him_ along her tongue. His dick twitched against her stomach where she had layered herself along his body, it's natural lubricant leaving a trail on her shirt.

 _Stars_ , she was such a tease.

He kisses her with a feverish sort of hunger, stoking that fire in her belly from a flame to a roaring inferno, and she realizes as she slips her hand between their bodies to run a fervent hand along his cock that they were much too clothed and, well, that just wouldn't do. She sits up, reveling in the whine that rumbles in his throat as his lips chase after her own, and she manages to wriggle out of her shirt and bra before he can distract her any further. Jaal immediately takes the opportunity to run his hands up her sides, cupping a breast in one hand and latching his mouth onto another, tweaks a nipple- mindful of the little metal bar that pierces it- and revels in the way her breath catches before scraping his teeth along the underside of the other.

Her hands shake a little as she runs them along his head and down over his frill, and she manages to grit out, "Clothes. Off. Now." Each word punctuated by an impatient tug at the neckline of his jumper and _goddamn_ if his satisfied little chuckle isn't the most infuriating thing she's ever heard, she doesn't know what is.

Jaal scoops a hand under her ass and flips them over, planting fleeting kisses down her sternum as he draws himself up and starts working his way out of his jumpsuit, surprisingly nimble fingers easily working open the buckles and clasps. He works his arms out of their sleeves, rolling the thick fabric down to curl at his waist, and he stops. Callidora nudges him with her knee, brows pulled together impatiently, but he merely gives her an expectant look of his own and shoots a pointed look to her own shorts, still hugging her hips by a loose knot. She rolls her eyes as she pulls the strings free, lifting her hips as an invitation for Jaal to pull them off himself.

She wasn't going to do all the _work_ while he got to sit back and _play_.

He huffs a small laugh, shaking his head as he makes a show of both his strength and his height by slipping his fingers beneath the elastic bands of both her shorts and her panties and pulling them off, raising her legs to have her ankles hook over his shoulders. He plants a kiss to the hexagonal tattoo that winds around her ankle, a matching twin to the one around her neck, and gazes at her with such unbridled lust that it makes her toes curl. He begins to slide his hand down the lean length of her leg, but she stops him by planting her foot to his chest, brows quirked as she bites her lip. He holds up his hands in surrender, the corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile, and he sits back on his haunches to let her do as she pleases. Callidora shifts and wiggles her way up the bed a little more, gets herself comfortable amongst the mountain of pillows littering it's head, and lets her legs fall open as she settles back down. Being with Jaal had plenty of advantages in the bedroom, a handful of certain interspecies size differences that she _loved_ , but unfortunately his hands weren't exactly made to _prep_ for those certain interspecies size differences.

So, as she lets her hand trail slowly down her body- teasingly passing down a breast, across the muscled plane of her stomach, along the line of her hipbone- she looks up and locks eyes with Jaal, and that's when her breath catches. Not when her fingers trace around her clit, not when she slowly dips into her own warmth, but when Jaal looks her in the eye and doesn't look away. It's almost unnerving, the intensity and the assuredness in which he watches her face as her fingers work herself, the way he doesn't so much as glance between her legs throws her off. She'd almost worry he had lost interest, but the proof to the contrary was very apparent and currently leaking a glowing bead of precum. She curls her fingers and her back arches; a gasp escaping parted lips as she scissors her fingers, eyes fluttering shut, and that's when she feels the bed shift. She grinds down against her hand as she forces her eyes open, and that's when she finally finds Jaal with his gaze pinned somewhere other than her face. He strokes himself, breathing shallowly as if afraid of making too much noise and missing a single sound she might let loose. She's tempted to slip a third finger in, just as an extra precaution and to tease him a bit further, but god she's impatient and between Jaal's natural lubricant and her own wetness she was much more inclined to get _him_ in her.

With a little sigh she withdraws her fingers and before she can even beckon him forward, Jaal is already slotting himself between her thighs, his dick resting hot and heavy against her skin as he mimics her earlier actions and draws her fingers into his mouth. Callidora whines as his tongue curls between her fingers and, since he's so determined to torment her, she reaches down with her free hand to run her palm along the underside of his cock, grinning wickedly when he gives a full-bodied shudder and bucks into her touch. Her fingers slip from his mouth as he wheezes, "Not fair."

She grips him fully then, runs a thumb along the delicious little ridges that ring the head of his cock, and says, "I don't care."

Jaal pants a little as he leans forward to kiss her, his hands sinking into the mattress beside her head and he's all hot passes of tongue and impatient clacking of their teeth. He ruts into her hand once, twice, before she finally, mercifully, guides him home. He groans loudly, so loudly she's sure the entire ship heard him, but frankly, she can't quite find it in herself to give a damn. He sinks his teeth into her shoulder to muffle himself as she digs her nails into his sides. She's sure she's not breathing as she takes the moment to adjust to being so _filled_. Jaal holds perfectly still, other than the slight tremble in the line of his shoulders, but he won't move until she's ready. Hell, for Callidora, he wouldn't move ever again if she asked him to. He'd be content to stay like this forever, to stay sunk to the hilt in her warmth, to stay in her embrace until they're both nothing more than star stuff.

But, after a long moment, she lets out that breath she was holding and shifts her hips. Her lips ghost over his frill and across his cheek as he lifts his head, her hands smooth up and over his back to hook over his shoulders as he slowly, so slowly, pulls out before thrusting back in. He sets the pace slow, gentle, wanting to enjoy this, to savor this time that they so rarely get to delight in.

She kisses him softly, sweetly, and he's sure that he could drown in her love. Never would he have thought that he would fall in love with an alien, especially not one so...small and soft, yet so strong and resolute. He half expected that one day he would blink and all of this would be gone, just another wishful dream of a man caught in a lifelong war, but the more they did, the more they saw, the more they _loved_ \- he was sure it was real.

More real than anything he could've ever hoped for.

Callidora moans softly as he straightens, meets each of his thrusts with eager rolls of her hips, but he can feel her need rising and he is nothing if not willing to please her. He passes his thumb over her clit lightly, not wanting to overstimulate her like he had during their first few joinings. She gasps, clenching around him deliciously, and she digs her heel into his ass in an attempt to spur him on further. He was happy to indulge her...but she was going to have to ask for it. So, he sticks with his pace, large hands nearly encompassing her waist as he waits.

It takes her a moment, her eyes closed as she bites her fingers to muffle her moans, but when his thumbs leisurely stroke along her stomach in time to his gentle thrusts, she knows exactly what he's waiting on. Which, frankly, is so un-fucking-fair. He already got to get off once tonight while she was busy being cockblocked by Tann, so of _course_ he wouldn't feel pressed to speed things up. She cracks her eyes open, glaring at him from beneath heavy lids, and she clenches down deliberately at the sight of his serene little smile. Jaal groans appreciatively, but doesn't quicken his pace in the slightest.

"Jaal, _please_ ," she whines, trying to canter her hips to take more of him, but he holds her down and quirks a brow- waiting for her to ask, plead, _beg_. Cal lets out a heavy exhale as she plucks at her nipples, stubborn to a fault and determined to make him give-in first. Well, at least, that's what she tells herself. Not even a minute later and she's accepted defeat because, really, she's still winning for losing. She reaches down and lightly grabs his wrist, running her fingers along his skin softly, wishing she had bioelectricity to as she says, breathy, light, wanting, "Jaal, baby, _please...fuck me._ "

" _Thank the stars_." He slips a hand beneath her knee and guides her leg up towards her chest as he bends down to kiss her. It's deep and languid and _oh_ when he bites her lip just so, hits that one spot within her _right there_ \- he swallows each of her moans with unfiltered delight. Her nails bite into his skin, scratch down the broad expanse of his back; as close to her own bioelectricity as she would ever get, and he shudders beneath her touch.

Each of his thrusts sounded almost obscene in the near quiet of her room, both her own wetness and his own natural lubricant leaving a mess on her thighs and her sheets, but frankly, she could never find it in herself to care too much.

His lips leave hers to travel across her cheek, along her jaw, score a searing path across her shoulder with scrapes of his teeth with his tongue trailing like an afterthought. His fingers spark along her skin, pinching her nipple before smoothing over the gentle sting. He reaches down between them and passes his thumb over her clit, light at first just to hear her cry his name, and then he's circling that little bundle of nerves with a purpose. Jaal's breathing turns heavier, matching Callidora's desperate pants, and her back arches as she grips his bicep, gasping, "Jaal–so close–"

She clenches around him as if to punctuate her words, and he feels her shudder deliciously as his bioelectricity spikes involuntarily within her. Callidora lets loose a cry so loud it was nearly a _scream_ , she was so close, right on the precipice- and so was he. Jaal presses closer, circles his fingers a little harder against her, and whispers in that deep gravel that makes her toes curl, " _Do it. Come for me, my Stardust_."

And then she's falling over the edge, her walls pulsing around him with each of his final, shallow thrusts, and he follows after her, spilling into her as she takes him for all he's worth. He kisses her again and again- lazy, sloppy things with no finesse, but it doesn't matter. There is nothing but love upon his lips and she would gladly drown in it.

They're both panting, tired messes; Jaal with enough mind to ease himself out of her to flop down beside her, Cal with a ringing in her ears and the beginnings of an ache in her hip from the angle he had set her to. She lies there, still trying to catch her breath, and she loops her pointer finger around his own as she stares at the reflection of the system's sun shining on the ceiling.

The longer they lay there, the more tempted she is to fall asleep- despite the sweat cooling on her skin and the sticky, glowing mess between her thighs...she hasn't felt so properly sated and truly tired in so long.

Thankfully, SAM is there to keep her priorities in check.

"Ryder," he intones, nearly dripping with exasperated patience, "shower. Now."

She groans, sending another glare at his node on her desk, but she knows to do as he says before he drives her insane with a Lexi approved spiel on infection and cleanliness. Cal sits up reluctantly, yawns, and gently shakes Jaal out of his stupor as she rises from the bed. What time was it anyway? SAM supplies the info and _oh god_ , the hour was much to close to Cora's complementary wake-up call for comfort.

No wonder she was exhausted. Well, more than usual.

"Jaal, can you please change the sheets while I shower?" She asks as she roots around for a towel on the other side of the room, but when she looks back, he's already stripped the bed and headed to the sanitizer shoot. He presses a kiss to her cheek as he passes, and she leaves him with a smile as she goes to clean herself up.

Of course, as her luck would have it, Drack is standing outside the bathroom door- a shiteating grin on his face.

"So, _Ryder_ -"

"Not another word, or so help me I will shoot you out the airlock."

Drack's laugh chased her into the bathroom, along with SAM's assurances that she _would_ , in fact, regret killing him.


End file.
